Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / "Faithful Unto Death: Embracing God's Promises" by Denver Young

Transcript

"Faithful Unto Death: Embracing God's Promises" by Denver Young · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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I appreciate it very much, somebody thinking of me and got the
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chair for me. And I told them I'll see how it goes without it.
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If I need it, I'll use it. I'm not ashamed to use
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it. I stand up all
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I can, do fairly well as long
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as I got something to steady me. But if I have something not to steady
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me, don't count on me standing very long. If there's a movement
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around me. Appreciate very much everyone's
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presence this evening. And I was talking about last week, you know,
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talking about church attendance,
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worship assembly attendance, all those things that
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we should count as a norm, not an
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exception. And that's the way I was brought up,
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but as thing to do.
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And I've noticed over the years, seems like the key
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ingredient— talking about faithful unto death and talking
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about being faithful throughout life— I think
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one of the key ingredients is that how faithful are we in our
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attendance? Not only are we commanded to assemble
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and worship and so forth, but also points
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out in the Scripture very plainly the benefits it is for us
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if we do that. And I think that's the key ingredient to keeping
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us faithful as we assemble together, as we come
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even midweek. Of course, I recognize I'm talking to the
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wrong audience about this, but I think the more we participate,
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the more we study, the more we learn, I think that's the key ingredient
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that we stay faithful throughout life.
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I want to talk tonight some about the fact
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of being faithful unto death and being
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faithful throughout life. Also,
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I want to talk some about the
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fact that as we learn and as we study,
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we become more dependent and more understanding
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on the promises that God has made to us. And that's
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what I was talking about tonight. Neil put that in as
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Embracing God's promises. And I think
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as we go throughout scripture, starting all the way from
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the foundations of the world, the very earliest time
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in history, it's been God's
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plan that we have a Redeemer.
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And he promised that to us. He promised to us that
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we would have a Redeemer.
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And I know there's a lot of challenges
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and so forth comes about when we think about different things, but when
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we really put our mind to it and we think about the promises
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that God has made to us, and we think about
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his fulfillment of the promises that he has made in the past that have
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come about, we can be fully assured
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as the Scripture tells us that what God says he will do, he will do.
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And I don't think any of us here this evening has any doubt whatsoever that
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what God tells us he will do, that it will come about.
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But in the very beginning of time, God had
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in mind, even before the foundation of the world, that we were
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going to have a Redeemer. And it's promised
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to us in Genesis 3:15, the first
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announcement I think here of a Savior coming.
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It tells us about— let's look at that in Genesis
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chapter 3, beginning at verse 15.
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When man fell in the garden,
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even before he pronounced the curse upon the man,
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he made this statement. He said that there is going
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to be a redeemer.
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Genesis 3:15,
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and I will put enmity between you and the woman.
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Let's back up just a little bit and get the full context of that.
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So the Lord, in verse 14, so the
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Lord God said to the serpent, because you
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have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle,
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and more than every beast of the field. On your
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belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all
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the days of your life. You know, there's no lower
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place than on your belly eating dust, is it? But that's a curse
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that God put on the serpent. Then it goes on and says,
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I will put enmity between you and the woman,
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between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise
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your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
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To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow
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in your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children.
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Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.
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Then he tells Adam the curse that he has. Then to Adam he said,
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because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the
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tree, of which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat of it.
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Cursed is the ground for your sake; toil
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you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
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Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the
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herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,
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till you return unto the ground; for out of it you were taken,
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dust you are, to dust you shall return.
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That curse was placed on Adam. That curse follows us
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today. We go out, we plant, we plant
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the seed, also thistles come forth, and we still
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have to toil and sweat in order to earn a living.
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That's the curse that was placed on Adam. However, God promised
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that there would be a time when there would be a Savior.
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Let's look now at Titus 1:2.
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Titus 1:2.
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To get
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the context, let's go up to verse 1. Paul, a bondservant of God, and the
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apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God, elect acknowledgment
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of the truth which accords with godliness
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in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie,
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promised before time began.
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So wasn't Titus saying— Paul writing Titus said,
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when did God promise this? Before time
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began. You know, when God promises something,
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He promised that we'd have a Savior. So what happened?
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In the fullness of time, that means, simply means that when
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time was right in God's time, a Savior came
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to this world. He went to the cross,
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shed his blood, gave his life that we can have
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life. Back up to 2 Timothy 1:9.
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2 Timothy 1:9.
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Let's go back to verse 8: Therefore do not be
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ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner,
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but share with me in the suffering for the gospel according to the power of
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God, who has saved us, called us
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with a holy calling, Not according to our works, but according
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to his own purpose and grace which was given to us
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in Christ Jesus, when? Before time
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began. 1 Peter chapter 1.
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1 Peter chapter 1, verse 19 and 21.
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19 through 21.
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But with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb
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without blemish, without spot, he indeed was foreordained
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before the foundation of the world. When? Before the foundation
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of the world. But was manifest in these last days for
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you, Who through him believe in God, who raised him
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from the dead, gave him glory, so that your
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faith and hope are in God.
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So we see in all these passages here the promises that
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was made, promise of a coming Savior.
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He came in the fullness of time.
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He went to the cross. He shed his blood.
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He was buried. He was resurrected.
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He brought in the new covenant. He also brought
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in the latter days, which are the days between the
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cross and the second coming of Christ.
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And he brought all this in as was promised by God
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before time. So we think
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about the promises that God had made even before
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the time, beginning of time. And we go back
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and think about those things and we see
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where these promises has already come into being.
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These promises all came into being according to God's
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timetable at the time that he wanted to bring
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them into effect. So we talk about embracing God's
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promise. What are we talking about? We're talking about choosing
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to actively trust. We're talking about
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believing. We're talking about live by
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the assurance and the commitments that
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God makes in his Word. You know, an active
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trust We actively trust something, we believe
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fully in it. We believe in it enough that we can put
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all of our trust and assurance in it. And we
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know the Scripture, we can rely fully upon God's character.
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When life is certainty of God, his character
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always demonstrated what he promised he will do.
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He does not change. You know, the world changes.
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A lot of things changes. But it says God is
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the same today, tomorrow, yesterday, and forever.
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God is not changing. So he does not change as
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the world changes, and he is completely dependable.
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Let's look at Psalms chapter 37.
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In Psalm chapter 37, we see the assurances that
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God has promised unto those that are faithful to him.
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Let's start in verse 23.
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The psalmist says that the steps of a good
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man are ordered by the Lord.
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That simply means that steps that we take day to day,
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do we let the Lord, do we let God direct those
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steps, or do we try to direct those steps on
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our own? You know, scripture says it's not within
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man to direct his own ways. We're dependent
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upon God to direct our steps.
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God created us. He knows what's in us.
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And he says it's not in us to direct our own steps.
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He says, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.
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He delights in his way. Though he
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fall, he shall not utterly be cast
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down. Now there's a difference in stumbling and falling
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than it is being cast down and can't get up, isn't it?
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God provides a way for us to get back up.
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He's got that ever-loving hand there ready to lift us back
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up. Just as the parable of the prodigal son,
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God is watching for us to get back
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up. He's wanting us back up. He's inviting
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us back up. And simply by prayer, repentance and prayer,
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we can get back up when we stumble and when we fall.
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Then he goes on and says this very interesting thing. He says,
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I've been young and now am old.
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You have not seen the righteous forsaken nor
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his descendants begging bread. He is ever
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merciful and
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his descendants are blessed. And he says,
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Depart from evil and do good, and dwell
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forevermore. For the Lord loves justice and does not
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forsake his saints. They are preserved forever,
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but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
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The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell in it
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forever. It's God's promise to the righteous
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that we will have an inheritance. What's he promised to
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the wicked? That they will be cut off. God's promises
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are true, and they are faithful. And just as he says they will
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do, they will do. So as we
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look at that particular passage there,
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it gives us an indication how steady God's
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hand is with us. Ultimate justice for
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the righteous, Compared to the fleeting path of the wicked.
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God is forever there. He will not
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let his saints be forsaken.
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Let's look at 2 Peter chapter 3.
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In that particular passage it's talking about, or that particular chapter
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is talking about the fact that God
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is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness,
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but he's longsuffering. And we should appreciate the fact that
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God is longsuffering with us. How many
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times have we needed God to be longsuffering with us?
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Every day that he waits about coming again,
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that gives opportunity to those that have not— that is not obedient
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to the plan of salvation. Every day there's
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those added. The Lord adds to the church daily those that are being
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saved. So if he's slack concerning his promise,
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it's not slackness, but it's rather giving
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opportunity for repentance.
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Let's look at that chapter just for a moment.
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Beloved, I write to you this second epistle,
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in both which to stir up your pure minds, By the
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way of reminder. Peter many times talks
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about the fact of reminding. And we all need
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to be reminded from time to time, don't we? We need to understand
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that we are forgetful people. And that's one benefit
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of coming together in midweek or whenever we assemble together to study the scriptures,
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to remind each other. Probably I'll not tell y'all anything
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you haven't heard many times. But we can remind each other of things
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that we already know, and we can emphasize
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things that we might need to work on. And we might remind each other
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that there are some things that we need reminding of,
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we maybe haven't thought about for a while.
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But Peter says that we remind each other of these
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things, that you may be mindful of the words which
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were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandments
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of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. In other words,
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he said, mind those things that's been spoken to you.
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We mind those things that we're taught every time we come together.
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We're minded of those things that Neil and Harm
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brings to us. We're reminded— we mind ourselves of those things
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that's taught in classes. Knowing this first,
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that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts.
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That's really a promise to us that we're going to have scoffers, and we have
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them. And they're going to be walking in their
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own lusts. They're going to try to deceive. They're going to try to
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place doubt on the Lord's second coming.
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Whatever they can do to hinder us in
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our worship and service of God, they're going to try to do.
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They come in the last days. The last days
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are all the days between the cross and the coming of the Lord
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the second time. And saying, then they say,
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where is the promise of his coming?
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What's that question for? That question is to put doubt in
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the mind of the believers. They say,
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where is that? He said he's going to come. He promised to come. Where's he
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at? I think in the New— probably in
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the New Testament, I don't know. I've never counted them, but it seems like I
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read or heard that over 300 times
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we're told that the Lord is coming again, second time.
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We're told that. And it's implied a lot more
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times. And he is coming again.
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Let's not be like the lady was that went to the— every
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time she went to service in a little country church, she wanted to sit on
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the front seat up next to where the preacher was. And the
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preacher was preaching one day and he said, he's going
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to quote the scripture. He wants to quote the scripture
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in Revelation that says, behold, I come, and he couldn't remember the rest of the
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word. So he backs up and he tries it again the second time.
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He says, behold, I come. It just couldn't come to him.
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So he thought the third time was a charm. He backed up and said,
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behold, I come. He stepped too far. That time
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he went in her lap of the little lady and she said,
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He's quite embarrassed. You said, it's not your fault.
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It's not your fault at all. You told me 3 times you was coming and
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I didn't do anything about it. Well, the Lord tells us
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over 300 times he's coming.
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We need to do something else about it.
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So when we think about what Peter says here in
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the latter days, there's going to be scoffers,
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trying to deter us from doing what's right,
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trying to get us off track. He says, knowing this first, as they
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come walking according to their own lusts. And then
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verse 4, he says, saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the
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fathers fell asleep, all things continue as it was from the beginning of creation.
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Now verse 5 explains this. Peter explains this, for the
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And this they willfully— what's it mean willfully?
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That means intentionally. Willfully forget,
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that by the Word of God the heavens were of
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old, the earth standing out of the water and in the water,
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by which the world that then existed perished,
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being flooded by water, but the heavens and the earth which
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are now preserved by the same Word,
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are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and prediction
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of ungodly men. What's God promising us first?
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No, he promised he wasn't going to destroy the world by water
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anymore, but he also promised here he's going to destroy it by fire, didn't he?
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But the heavens and the earth,
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now preserved by the same word,
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same word that God used to create the heavens and the earth, are also
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preserved Until fullness
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of time comes when it's time to be no more.
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But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is
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a thousand years and a thousand years is one
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day. Time has no effect on God.
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The Lord is not slack, in verse 9,
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concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.
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But he is longsuffering toward us, not willing any should perish,
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all should come to repentance. Now verse 10,
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he says, the day of the Lord will come.
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That's a promise. As a thief in the night,
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heavens will pass away with a great noise,
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elements will melt with fervent heat,
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Both the earth and the works that are in it will be
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Therefore, now notice what it says here. Therefore, if all
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these things are to be dissolved,
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what manner of person ought ye to be in holy conduct
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and godliness? So all these things, if all these
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things are going to come about, What the
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question is asking us, what kind of conduct, what kind
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of way of life should we and best we be
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living? Since all these things will be dissolved,
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what manner of person? What kind of person are we?
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Are we ready for the Lord's coming? Have we done everything
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we can to prepare ourselves for the Coming of the Lord,
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all these things are going to be dissolved. What manner of
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conduct and godliness?
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Now, if we're ready, we know
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all these things are going to be burned up, all things are going to be
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destroyed, all things melt away. And if
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we really believe that,
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And we're ready. Verse 12 says,
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and we can be looking for, and we can be hasting
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to the coming of the day of God, because of which
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the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire,
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and elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless,
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we, according to a new promise, look for new heavens and a
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new earth in which righteousness dwells.
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He says in verse 14, be diligent, be found
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by him in peace, without spot
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and blameless. And consider
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the longsuffering of our Lord as salvation,
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as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom
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given to him, has written to you.
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And also in all his epistles, speaking in them of
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these things, some hard to understand,
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which untaught and unstable people twist in
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their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scripture.
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But beloved, since ye know this beforehand,
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beware lest ye also fall away from your own
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steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked,
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but grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior
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Jesus Christ. To him be glory now and forever. Amen.
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So the key to this passage is that we grow,
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that we study, that we know, that we recognize the
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fact that these people come in to destroy our faith.
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Let's go to Galatians chapter 6.
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And Galatians chapter 6 talks about this
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present life and sowing either
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to the flesh or to the Spirit.
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Galatians chapter 6, let's go down to verse 6
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through 10.
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Says, be generous, at the heading of that passage. Be generous
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and do good. Let him who is taught the Word
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share in all good things with him who teaches.
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Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows,
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that he will also reap. He who sows to
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the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who
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sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
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And let us not grow weary while doing good.
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In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
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Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good
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to all, especially those who are of the household of faith.
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In this present life,
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we invest our time, we invest
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our finances, we invest what we have in
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one of two ways. That's either sowing
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to the flesh or sowing to the Spirit.
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He says that as we do this,
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He outlined— Paul outlines here practical
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duties regarding
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Christians. And one of those is generosity.
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One of them is accountability. And one of them is steadfastness.
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He begins out by talking about, let him who is taught
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the Word Sure in all good things with him who teaches.
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That simply is telling us that as we have opportunities,
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we have the means to do so, let us
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support those that are going into the field to carry
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the gospel, missionaries, preachers,
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whoever needs support. We may not be able to do it ourselves.
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We may not be able to go ourselves. But let us support
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those that are doing that with the means that
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we have to do so.
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Also, it talks about accountability.
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Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. Whatever a man
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sows, that will he also reap. We're going to be
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held accountable for what we sow while we're here upon this earth.
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We're going to reap what we sow. If we sow the
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flesh, he says, you're going to reap corruption and ruin.
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If we sow the Spirit, we will reap eternal life.
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How are we sowing? So he talks about the fact that we sow and
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we will give accountability for that. And he
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goes on and talks about being steadfast, not to grow weary
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in well-doing, In due season we will reap if we faint not.
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Therefore, as we have opportunity, do good to all, especially unto the household
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of faith. You know, God has blessed this country
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in which we live, and the Scriptures
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does teach us that where a lot is given,
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a lot is required. We look at the population
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of the world, maybe this country has somewhere around 5 5.5%
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of the population of the world, but you know it has 35%
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or more of the financial goods of
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the world. God's entrusted to us as stewards a
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lot of goods, and he expects us to use those the
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very best way we can. So as we have opportunity, let us do
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good to all men, especially unto those of the household of faith.
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Let's go to 2 Timothy chapter 4, 6 through 8.
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Paul lived a life that as
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he gets ready to part this life,
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He lived a life where he could look back over it and he could say,
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yes, I fought a good fight.
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He looked at the present and said, I've kept the faith.
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He looked to the future and says that there's a crown of life
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laid up for me.
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And as he says in verse 6, I am ready,
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already being poured out. A drink offering.
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He said, the time of my departure is at hand.
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I fought the good fight, I have finished the race,
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I've kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up
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for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
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will give me on that day,
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not to me only, but also to all who has loved
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his appearing. Paul recognized the
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fact that he'd run a good race.
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He recognized the fact that he taught he had finished the course.
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He recognized the fact that he would have that
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crown of life. You know, we think
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about death, sometimes we think about it as a dark
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place. We think about it as departing
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in sadness and grief, but you know, the Christian
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certainly should have a different attitude toward
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death than what someone that doesn't have hope of life
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eternal has. Paul refers to death
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in several different ways.
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As he faces death, he refers
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to death in different kinds of terms.
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One time he calls it departure. He said, the time of my departure
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is at hand. And refers
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to it as to be with Christ in Philippians 1:23.
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He refers to it as to be at home with the Lord,
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2 Corinthians 5:8. He also
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refers to death as a gain. We don't hear that very often,
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do we? He referred to life— or to
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death as a gain over life.
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And it is to those that are saved.
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Also, he also referred to it as being far better Philippians
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1:23. Also refers to it as
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falling asleep in Jesus, 1 Thessalonians 4:14.
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In other places, Scripture refers to death as precious
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in the sight of God, Psalms 116:15.
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Also refers to us as being carried away by the angels to Abraham's
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bosom. Luke 16:22, as was the
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beggar. Also refers to it going to paradise,
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Luke 23:43. Going to the house
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with many mansions, John 14:2.
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All these things are promised. To the faithful Christian,
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death is not a dark place, but rather it
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is going to the house with many mansions.
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It should be a joyful release from the
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bonds of this world into
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the presence of God. So we can think— a
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Christian can think of death in that manner. It's a joyful
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release from the bonds of this world to be in the presence of God.
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Revelation 14, verse 13: From
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now on. Yea, saith the Spirit, they may rest from
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their labors, and their works do follow them.
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We also come to the resurrection.
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We all think about that from time to time.
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God has promised unto us that Jesus is
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the firstfruits of the resurrection. Jesus is the firstfruits,
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there's gonna be others. Those others are faithful Christians at
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the time of death or at the time the Lord comes again.
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Talks about this in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
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Verse 50,
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and this is talking about our final victory. Now this
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I say, brethren, flesh and blood cannot
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inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption
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inherit incorruption. Behold,
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I tell you a mystery, We shall
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not all sleep, but we all shall be
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changed, in a moment, twinkle of an eye,
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at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,
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the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall
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be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption,
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mortal must put on immortality. And when
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this corruption has put on incorruption, this mortal
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has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying
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that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.
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O death, where is your sting? O Hades,
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where is your victory? The sting of death is sin,
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the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,
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who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,
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immovable, always abounding
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in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is
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not in vain in the Lord.
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This is a promise that's made to us in the resurrection.
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This old body is sown,
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goes back to the earth from which it came.
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Spirit circles back to God who gave it.
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But he says, in the resurrection, this old corruptible body will
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be resurrected a spiritual body,
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incorruptible, immortal,
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to live forever.
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We can't really wrap our mind around a statement
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like that. It's hard for us to understand
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because we don't— we haven't seen it.
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But by faith and the promises God has made,
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we are fully assured that that is the
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way it will be in the resurrection.
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This corruptible body will be raised incorruptible.
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This mortal body will be raised immortality.
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And as Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection,
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we know that we too will be
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resurrected. 1 Thessalonians,
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1 Thessalonians chapter 4,
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13. Get us some more insight into
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the resurrection.
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Here Paul writing to the Thessalonians says, I don't want you to be ignorant
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concerning those who have fallen asleep.
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Simply means, I want you to know about this.
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They was concerned about those of their folks
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that had passed on. They're concerned about the fact
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that maybe those that were still living when Christ returns again
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would hinder those that already died, already passed
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on. But Paul says, don't worry about this.
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Don't be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep.
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You don't need to sorrow as others who have no
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hope. Those that have fallen asleep simply means those that have fallen
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asleep in the Lord. He's talking about Christians here.
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Ones that falls asleep that's not in the Lord, they have no hope.
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For we believe that Jesus died and rose again.
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Even so, God will bring with him those who sleep
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in Jesus. You know, promises that are made
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are made sometimes they're conditional promises and sometimes
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unconditional. Those unconditional promises
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don't require anything of us to receive that promise.
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But the conditional promises requires action on our parts to
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receive that promise. And here that condition
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on our part If we're going to be resurrected like he talks
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about here, is to be in the Lord.
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Sleep in Jesus. That simply means when we die,
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we're in the Lord. For this we say
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to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain
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until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede
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those who are asleep. It's not
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going to be no hindrance to those that are asleep when the Lord comes again
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because they're going to be the first. For the Lord himself
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will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel,
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and with the trumpet of God, and the dead will rise first.
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Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
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in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
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Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
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Therefore comfort one another with these words.
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So we have the promises that's made concerning the resurrection.
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There's others. There's others. That's 2 that we looked
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at tonight. There's also going to be, in the few minutes
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we have left, there's also going to be a welcoming. Matthew 25.
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There's going to be a welcoming promised to those that are
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faithful until death or faithful through
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life. Matthew 25.
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We know this parable of the talents. Let's go for the sake of time
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to verse 20. It says, so he that received
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the 5 talents came and brought 5 other talents, saying,
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Lord, you delivered to me 5 talents. I've gathered 5 more talents
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besides them. His lord said to him, well done, good and faithful
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servant. You were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler
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over many. Enter into
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the joy of the Lord. And to likewise,
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he brought 2 more. And he said— and
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the lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant.
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You've been faithful over a few things, I'll make you ruler over many.
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Enter into the joys of the Lord. The Lord has promised unto us
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a welcoming if we've been faithful.
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If we've been faithful in using our talents, doing what we should,
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he promised to welcome us in.
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And the final one, let's look at 1 Corinthians 15.
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1 Corinthians 15, we'll start with verse 20.
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But now Christ is risen from the dead,
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has become the firstfruits. And we talked about, you know, Christ is the firstfruits,
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then there are other fruits to follow. That'll be us.
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Of those who have fallen asleep. For since by
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man came death,
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Also by man also came the resurrection of the dead.
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For as in Adam all die, talking about the
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physical death, because of the sin of Adam, we all die a physical death.
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Even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
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But each one in his own order.
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Christ the firstfruits, Afterward,
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those who are Christ's at his coming.
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Then comes the end, when he delivers
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the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to
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all rule and to all authority and
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power. He must reign till he has put
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all enemies under his feet. The last enemy
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that shall be destroyed is death,
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For he has put all things under his feet.
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But when he says, all things are put under him, it is
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evident that he who puts all things
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under him is excepted, that is, God. Now when all things
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are made subject to him, then the Son himself
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will also be subject to him who put all things
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under him. That God may be all in
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all. Promise that made, that's the end.
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That's the end. Church transferred
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from earth to heaven. And that's the end.
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Y'all have any comments or anything you'd like to say?
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As they tell the Apostle Paul when he was speaking, if you have something to
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say, say on. Years ago, when I
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was a college student, one of my Bible teachers told us about when he
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was a Bible student in college. One of his teachers
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told him, and that was at a time when
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people were predicting the end of the world, somebody asked
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him, how come you're out looking for Jesus today?
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You know he's coming today. He said, no, he's not.
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He said he's coming at a time when we're not looking for
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him. Yeah, that's a good statement there.
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Matter of fact, the scripture teaches things are going to be going as normal,
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like it was in the days of Noah. We know that.
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Thank you.